Dreaming of Jade Dolphins
by optimustaud
Summary: Years before Heaven's War, the Black Reaper learns to wear a mask.


ATTENTION: Rating is M for a reason. Dark themes, child abuse, torture, death. The focus of this story is how Hei changes from the bright-eyes enthusiastic child we see in the flashbacks to the young man we see in the anime. This is meant to show one event that could have happened during that transition. I certainly don't want to cause any of my readers undue distress so be aware of that before you start reading. This is going to get unpleasant for Hei and may be too much for some.

This story takes place pre Heaven's war. Hei is 13, Pai is 9. The year is ~1998.

This idea has been forming in my head for the last two years. I was finally motivated to write it down after reading tsuki-llama's stories "One Hour at a Time" and "Distractions."

And a great big thanks to CakuRamen who took the time to beta this fic.

* * *

Mr. Periwinkle stretched out a gangly arm, the coiled ends of his cold fingers brushing briefly against Hei's warm palm as he passed him a roll of yuan notes. "Just because you get the day off, don't think you can slack off," he lectured. "This is your first job. This is half your pay; the rest will come when you finish your mission. You and your sister need to be back by sunset. There will be consequences if you fail."

Hei barely listened to the man as he accepted the money, filled with adolescent pride. He nodded and fidgeted impatiently as he listened to the rest of Mr. Periwinkle's instructions. At thirteen years old he felt it was already past time that he be trusted with taking care of Pai.

It was the first time that he had ever been allowed to take a day off training. He felt warm bubbly excitement rise in his throat. After six months of confinement and training he was more than ready to get out and explore the city. Plans of taking Pai to the park or to see a movie began forming in his mind.

Hei returned to his room, a depressingly sterile bedroom bare of everything but a white blanketed bed tucked neatly with sharp military folds. He reached beneath the bed and pulled out a small black case. From it he took his cell phone and knives. He concealed them in his clothes. Mr. Periwinkle had spent weeks teaching him how to hide weapons. When he checked his reflection in the window Hei was pleased to see no obvious bulges to give away the presence of his weapons.

Pai was waiting for him in the clinically white hallway. She was dressed in jeans and a pale pink baseball shirt with light yellow sleeves. Hei had helped her braid the new length of hair she had gained in the months they had been living with Mr. Periwinkle. She was watching him approach with glassy, disinterested eyes; her face turned towards him as he neared. "Brother," she greeted him tonelessly.

Hei forced a smile on to his lips. "Hey Pai, you ready to go?"

She nodded slowly.

"Are you excited about today?" he coaxed.

She looked at him, scrunching her eyebrows. "Why would I be?"

Hei felt the muscles in his face twitch, but the smile remained firmly in place. "Well I am. It's been forever since we've been out." He reached forward and grabbed the hand resting limply at her side. "Let's go. Make sure you hold on tight."

Hei let his smile fall from his face as they moved into the open air. Not so long ago Pai would have reached out for his hand. Today, somewhere in the city, he was determined to find a way to make Pai smile again.

* * *

Hei grasped Pai's hand tightly, taking care not to move faster than his sister could manage. He twisted his neck this way and that, devouring the sights before him. The buildings were huge, bigger then he could have ever imagined. He craned his neck higher and higher, taking in the smooth windowed surfaces that stood tall enough to brush fingers with the sky. The air was rank with the stink of burning exhaust, fried foods, and garbage. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever smelled.

Hei had never seen so many people crammed together in his entire life. They crowded around him, pushing into him, babbling and traveling through their day, never giving him a second thought. It was an alien world, so very different from the open fields and rolling farmlands of his childhood. He turned, eyes glowing, to share his excitement with his sister. She looked back at him and his words died before they could be spoken. Those glassy, disinterested eyes were starting to wear on him.

He took her hand and led her to the shopping center. They wondered through the rows of shops, pressed their faces against the glass of the store displays. Hei's eyes lingered over display cases and open stands filled with jewelry, carved figurines, and bright stacks of clothing. He ran to cheap vendor stalls, trying on cheap sunglasses and parroting lines from James Bond movies. On a whim Hei stopped to buy a small dolphin figurine carved from white-green jade and hid it in his jacket pocket. It was the sort of trinket Pai would have liked. Maybe someday he would give it to her.

They stopped to eat lunch by the gentle spray of a water fountain. Hei gorged himself on steamed buns, sticky rice balls, and sweet bean jam. It had been a long time since he had experienced the pleasure of sweet and salty fast foods. Pai sat close eating slowly and precisely. Sometimes Hei would peek up from his food to watch her as she ate.

He was trying very hard not to be mad at Pai. He knew that none of this was her fault. Mr. Periwinkle had explained all of it to him, about contractors and what happened to a human's mind when they changed. He knew it wouldn't be fair to take out his bad mood on her. But it was so hard being away from home, knowing his parents didn't remember him at all. Pai was family and it hurt knowing he couldn't do anything to help her. He hated seeing her so empty, when she used to be so full. He wanted to take her stargazing and listen to her babble about being a nurse, or an astronaut, or a dolphin tamer. He found himself wishing that they had enough money for the aquarium. Maybe he could ask Mr. Periwinkle about it the next time they got a day off. He counted the bills in his hand. He would just have to save his money until then.

As he licked the last bits of food residue from his fingers, Hei turned to his sister. "Want to go see a movie?" he asked

She turned her face towards him. "I want . . ." Hei waited, patient and hopefully as she tried to put the words together. She was frowning a little as she finished speaking. "Never mind, Brother."

"Never mind?" Hei's stomach twitched uncomfortably.

Pai shook her head, her fingers curled limply in her lap. Hei reached over, placed his hand on his sister's head, and drew her temple against his shoulder.

* * *

Hei did end up taking her to a movie; a cartoon where the heroes were beautiful, clever girls had magical powers and the villains were dark, ugly witches full of jealousy and rage. He sat in the darkened theatre next to his sister. The other children around them roared with laughter or huddled close to their parents, moved by the images dancing before their eyes. Pai sat quietly, her face pale and still. Hei watched her, waiting for her eyes to brighten with moisture or her lips to twitch with amusement.

He blinked in the bright sunlight as they stepped out from the darkness of the theatre and into the busy streets. "Did you like the movie?" he asked, keeping his voice light and cheerful.

Pai raised her head and blinked very slowly. "I don't understand."

Hei frowned. "Did the ending confuse you?"

Pai shook her head. "No. I don't understand. Why did we go see the movie?"

Hei felt like someone had pressed an ice cube into his spine. "Just for fun, Pai." He bit his lip, suddenly unsure of himself. "I thought you would like it."

For a moment her face showed the barest flicker of confusion. It reminded him of cold winter afternoons when he would hover over her at the breakfast table helping her decipher her homework at his parent's request. The bare confusion on her face used to make him mad. It meant he would have to take more of his own time to help her figure out her math problems or slog through her reading. Now that confusion represented the faintest hope that he might be able to reach her.

Hei grinned. "Forget it, we'll find something else to do. That movie was lame anyway."

* * *

Hei took Pai down to the docks. It wasn't as good as the aquarium, but it was the best he could do. The air smelled like salt and diesel. They walked down the pier and watched the ships bobbing at anchorage. He looked on with interest as large cranes loaded long metal boxes onto the container ships. He wondered what was in those boxes and where they were going.

The waves were lapping at the shore. The gentle sloshing noises soothed Hei. Somewhere there were birds crying as they scavenged through the fishermen's leftovers. Pai was kneeling near the water, one hand submerged in the slimy brine. She was frowning. Hei crouched next to her.

"Something wrong, Pai?"

"It's cold."

Hei stuck his hand in the water experimentally. "Yeah it is." He took his hand out of the water and shook it. The droplets reflected in the yellow sun as they fell to the ground. Pai removed her hand as well and ran her thumb over her lips.

She was looking right at him, eyes clear and direct. Hei fumbled in his pocket running his hand along the smooth body of the figurine. He traced the graceful lines of the dolphin's nose to the tip of its tail. He hadn't noticed the fine crack running along the figurine's torso when he had bought it.

The crack reminded him of a sturdy clay teapot his mother had owned. One afternoon Pai had wanted to look at it so he had climbed up the kitchen counter to pull it down from the shelves. Pai's wish to look at the teapot had turned into Pai wanting to touch the teapot and she picked it up. She held it for only a moment before it slipped from her tiny fingers and bounced against the floor. The clay was sturdy enough that it did not shatter, but the side of the pot cracked. Hei placed the pot back on the shelf and never told their mother what had happened. Each time their mother used it to serve tea Hei would watch the crack spread across the surface of the pot. One day, as their mother poured hot water into the pot he heard a sharp cracking noise. The pot split in two and sloshed the boiling water all over his mother.

Hei turned the figurine in his hand one last time and sighed as he took his hand out of his pocket. "Let's go, it's getting late." As Pai rose to leave the pier, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

* * *

Pai was starting to get tired. She wasn't complaining, but there was less slack between their arms than there had been earlier. The sun was hanging low in the sky; he might have another two or three hours before it set. He really didn't want to know what consequences he would have to face if the sun went down before they got back.

Pai reached out and grabbed the cuff of his shirt with her free hand. "I'm hungry." Hei sighed. He was getting hungry too.

"We can eat when we get back," he decided. The work day had ended. The dockyards were almost completely empty of people.

He led Pai back towards the narrow streets radiating from the waterfront and toward the center of the city. After fifteen minutes of wondering he found himself back at the dockyard. He briefly touched the cell phone resting in his pocket, wondering if he should just call Mr. Periwinkle. He rejected the idea. Mr. Periwinkle was always saying he should learn to solve his problems by himself.

He turned and saw Pai starring at him expectantly. She looked exhausted. Mr. Periwinkle had also said Pai's safety was his first responsibility. He flipped the cell phone open and dialed his instructor's phone number.

Hei stood at the curb by an access road letting the phone ring, and trying to remember his way back when a car pulled up beside them. He immediately stepped away and pulled Pai behind him. A blond man in a pinstriped button-down was driving. There was a second dark haired man in the passenger seat next to him but Hei couldn't make out the details of his clothes or face. The blond man stuck his head out the window. He was smiling. Hei knew that smile. It was the smile adults used on kids when they thought kids were too young and stupid to understand what was going on around them. Hei tensed as the man spoke. "Sorry, I'm a bit lost. I don't suppose you kids could tell me how to get . . . well hell, I can't read these names." Hei could barely understand what he was saying through the man's thick accent. The man held out a map and motioned for Hei to come closer.

Hei took one step forward before he caught himself and stopped. The man continued to smile. "Can you come over here and show me?" he asked mildly.

"I . . . sorry." Hei's voice sounded shaky and uncertain to his own ears. He remembered what Mr. Periwinkle had said, that people would be coming after Pai to take her away, that he would have to be careful and watch out for her from now on. "We're late getting home," Hei continued, his voice steadier this time. He pushed Pai back as he inched away from the car.

"Sorry," he shouted as he turned and broke into a run, dragging Pai behind him. He darted into the shipping yard, trembling with fear. Behind him he heard the man swear in a language he did not recognize. He heard the opening and closing of a pair of car doors.

Hei waited a moment longer, listening, trying to calm his heart. Mr. Periwinkle had told him things like this might happen, but he had never expected it in the middle of broad daylight. He dodged and darted through the container yard, trying to maneuver back to the safety of the crowded streets. Pai ran behind him, her tired face solemn and expressionless.

Hei rounded a stack of wooden pallets and saw the blond man from the car. He had no time to stop and he tumbled against the man's chest. Two strong hands coiled around his arms. Hei had never before experienced the sheer difference in strength between an adult body and his child body. He looked up into the face of his captor. The man smiled that foul, condescending smile he had used in the car. Then his eyes turned red. The phosphorescent blue glow of his power clashed harshly against the sun's orange light.

Hei cried out and twisted in the harsh grasp. He lifted both his feet, coiled his legs and kicked with all his might at the man's knee caps. There was a crunching sound as the joint buckled under the force of his kick. The man gasped in pain and Hei rolled free.

As Hei pushed to his feet, Pai placed herself between him and his attacker. She was alight with that eerie blue glow. Hei called her name and reached for her, but it was too late. Her outstretched fingers had already made contact with the man's broad chest.

There was a crackle of energy. Hei was close enough he could feel the static tingle from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. It was over in an instant. The screaming man spasmed grotesquely and fell to the ground.

Slowly the glow of the synchrotron radiation faded. She lowered her arm and looked at him blankly before her eyes slid shut and she slumped to the ground.

Hei sat in the dirt alone, save for the corpse of a dead man and his sleeping killer.

For a long time he could only stare at the scene in front of him. The dead man stared upwards with vacant, bulbous eyes. Pai was curled asleep in the dirt, her little girl features slack against a background of pink and gold.

Hei panted helplessly, his heart hammering erratically within his chest. He wanted to dig it out to relieve the pressure of its frantic beating. The birds calling across the bay grew louder. The waves sloshing over the pier no longer sounded like gentle slaps, but more like a thunderous orchestra. A man lay dead in front of him. This man who had been whole and alive mere seconds ago was dead and his little sister had killed him.

A voice called out sharply from the distance. Hei didn't understand the words, but something of their tone startled him from shock. He remembered that there was one other man looking for them in the dockyard.

Hei bowed his head, trying to calm the pounding of his heart. With shaking hands he picked up his sleeping sister and draped her over his back. She was heavier than he thought she would be. He would have to get stronger if he was going to keep carrying her.

He could not move any faster than a walk with her weight draped awkwardly over his shoulders. The voice became louder as the man moved closer. He could not outrun them like this. He had to hide.

Hei found an old storage shed on the dock. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was filled with dust and cobwebs and a few rusted tools propped up against the walls. The air inside was stale and smelled of sun-baked fish and ozone. Pai would be safe enough inside.

He laid his sleeping sister on the floor and covered her with his jacket as best he could. It didn't matter if she was a monster or a killer, she was his sister and he would do anything to keep her safe. His head was starting to pound in rhythm with his heart. The sun reflecting off the windows was too bright adding to the rising pain in his head. The heat of the room clogged his nostrils and made his eyes water.

He took a moment to search for his cell phone. He rummaged through the pocket of his jeans and his pants. It was gone; he must have dropped it while he was running from the two men. Now he had no way of contacting Mr. Periwinkle.

Mr. Periwinkle had once told him how to protect Pai when she was making her payment. "Think of the mother bird," he had said. "Sometimes she will pretend to have a broken wing to lead predators away from her nest. It is how she keeps her chicks safe."

After he had paced the length of the shed twice more, Hei took a risk and poked his head out the door. He breathed in the cool, salty air. It felt good on his overheated face. Hei shuffled his feet uncertainly for a moment before stepping out of the shed. It was quiet except for the ever-present sound of the waves and the birds.

He moved among the containers, trying to keep his footsteps silent as he walked. He tried to stay in the shadows and raced from the cover of one cargo container to another, heading back towards the access road where he had met the foreigners.

Hei hesitated when he returned to the crumpled form sprawled on the dusty concrete. His heart sped up, pounding out another erratic rhythm. Each beat seemed to speak to him; _deaddeaddeaddeaddeaddeaddead_. This man was dead. Pai had killed him.

He didn't want to be near this body. He didn't want to touch it. He wanted to run back to the storage shed and hide. He wanted to go to the park and push Pai on swing set. He wanted to wake up in his old bed and listen for the sound of his mother cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

He walked forward, knelt, and reached out a hand. The body was still warm and only just starting to stiffen. He gagged as he rolled the corpse over. The man's face was waxy and grey. A pair of glassy blue eyes stared into his face.

Now Hei was choking as he worked, trying to force the bile back down his throat. The man was unarmed. Hei rooted through his pockets searching for something, anything he could use. He pocketed the man's wallet and car keys, but found nothing else. Then, he heard a voice, speaking quietly as it approached him. He pushed away from the corpse and dove behind a cargo container.

The voice grew closer, accompanied by the harsh crunch of footsteps. Hei squeezed his eyes shut and pressed closer to the metal of the container. The footsteps stopped not far from where he was hiding.

Curiosity overcame fear. Hei inched his way towards the edge of the container and peered around the edge. The man was there, kneeling over the body with his back facing Hei. The man was speaking quietly to himself, his voice overlaid with irritation and frustration. Hei wished he knew what the man was saying.

The kneeling man was searching the body, rustling clothing and running his hands over the still chest. Hei inched closer, his head only half obscured by the cargo container. It was at that moment that the kneeling man turned around.

Their eyes met. Hei stiffened, frozen by a surge of panic that sent his heart pounding once more. The man called out and rose to his feet. He started walking towards him. It shook Hei free from his fear. He braced his palms against the container, pushed off the hard metal surface and ran.

He ignored the shouts from behind him and sprang like a deer in the spaces between the waiting cargo containers. He ran until his hunger and exhaustion forced him to slow. He was already panting raggedly, his limbs felt like they were mired in glue.

He ducked beside a large red container to catch his breath. He listened for the sound of footsteps and voices as he sucked in air. As he caught his breath the man silently appeared from behind the container.

The man was frowning. "What the hell do you think you're doing, kid?" He started walking towards Hei. "Where is that little girl you were with?"

Hei stood and braced himself against the container. The late afternoon sun was hammering into his skull. "Screw you, it's none of your business," he yelled, trying to hide his fear behind bravado.

The man's frown deepened, but he continued to step closer. "Stop it! Get the hell away from me!" Hei fumbled for the knives strapped to his torso. The man stopped his eyes widening for a moment before narrowing in concentration. He had seen that look on Mr. Periwinkle's face on days when he had performed exceptionally poorly during training. The man took an experimental step forward. When Hei did nothing he took another step.

"I mean it, I will kill you if you come any closer," Hei couldn't keep his voice from shaking. He freed a knife from its sheath. His hands shook, the tip of the blade trembled. The man smirked. He took another step.

Hei's fingers tightened around the grip, his index finger quavering against the hilt. He thought of that sad corpse, sprawled in the dust, and rotting under the bright sun.

Hei shut his eyes and steadied the blade. He pushed his heels into the dirt and charged forward. The blade never hit its mark. The man had caught his wrists in one large hand. He twisted Hei's hands upwards and the blade fell from suddenly numbed fingers. Hei opened his eyes.

Hei saw the man curl the fingers of his opposite hand into a fist. He watched that fist rise and then descend. He felt the harsh impact of bone on bone as the man's hard knuckles hammered into his skull. There was an explosion of white light behind his eyes and then he knew nothing more.

* * *

Hei jerked awake. His limbs were rubbery with exhaustion and hunger. His mouth was dry and his head was throbbing with pain. He opened his gummed eyes. The world gyrated around him like a spinning ballerina. He squeezed his eyes shut again and tried to bring his arms up to ease the pain in his skull.

That was when he first felt the rough fibers digging into his wrists. The realization his hands were tied jolted him fully awake. He tugged at the knots, his eyes going wide with panic.

The sun had set while he had been out. He looked into the darkness trying to determine where he was. He felt cold concrete beneath him. He could make out the outlines of shipping containers in the dim light. So he was still at the docks. It was quiet except for the sound of waves in the bay. Hei shivered, wishing he still had his jacket. His weight on his arms had pinched his nerves and his hands were now numb and tingling. He could smell the rich scents of smoke and nicotine. Hei shifted carefully, wincing as he moved. His brain felt like a bumper car ramming into the side of his skull. He saw the outline of a man's body; one hand was held near his ear, the other hand dangled down his side. Hei could see the faint glow of the tip of a cigarette. The man was talking into a cell phone, the tip of the cigarette swaying in time with the man's movements.

The dark haired man's voice sounded angry. Hei couldn't make out his features in the darkness. Memories of his flight through the dockyard, the dead body, and the knife returned slowly. He rolled onto his side and curled up. The rough scraping of his movement against the concrete did not go unnoticed by the foreigner. The voice stopped. The man dropped his cigarette and stomped it out before pocketing his cell phone. Hei squeezed his eyes shut and shook. There was the sound of footsteps. He could not feel his knives and cell phone tucked beneath his clothes. The man must have searched him while he had been unconscious. There was nothing he could do. He was completely helpless.

The man knelt next to him. Hei dared to watch him through slit eyes. "Well, it was a nice try kid. I gotta hand it to ya, I didn't think a couple of kids would be able to take out Mars. How did you manage it?"

Hei pressed his lips together and said nothing. The man frowned. "It was that little girl you were with wasn't it?"

Hei's eyes opened before he realized it, but he kept silent. The man nodded knowingly. "The two of you look a lot alike. She's your little sister isn't she? I can understand that you would want to protect her, but we're not here to hurt her, we're here to keep her from hurting other people."

Hei thought back to the moment she had killed. It had been so easy; it had only taken the brush of her fingers to cause death. Even worse, she hadn't even cared that she had just killed a man. There had not been the barest flicker of remorse or guilt in her empty eyes. He wondered what would happen to him if he stayed with her. Would she use that power on him someday? Would she be able to kill him as easily as she had killed that stranger?

He had promised himself that no matter how strange Pai became he would look after her. But he had never considered the price; he had never considered how easy it was for Pai to kill. Did that in turn make him responsible for every life Pai took? Before today he had no idea what death truly looked like. Now he had seen it and touched it. Now he understood how terrifyingly final it was.

"So why don't you tell me where she is?"

Why didn't he? It would be easy enough to point to the storage shed where he had hidden her. If not for her he would never have met Mr. Periwinkle or had to leave home, he wouldn't be laying on a dock, tied up and shivering in the night. But then he remembered Pai at the lake, laughing, bright-eyed, and dreaming of being a nurse. He remembered evenings at the kitchen table helping her with her homework and the look of joyful pride on her face when she solved a difficult problem. He could feel her cool palm pressing into his hand in the shopping district as she reached out to him and the confusion in her eyes at the movie theatre.

The man sighed and turned. Then he rubbed his hand over his face and chuckled before turning back to face Hei. The kick that followed was so fast Hei had no time to protect himself from its force. The toe of the man's shoe buried itself in Hei's gut, lifting him a few inches off the ground. The blow upset the tenuous hold he had on his nausea and he vomited, spilling bile onto the dusty concrete.

Hei gasped, choking desperately, trying to breathe through the pain hammering in his gut. The man grabbed his hair and raised his head roughly. "Listen you little shit, I know you know where the girl is. Tonight is gonna get a whole lot worse unless you tell me where she is." The sudden movement upward jolted Hei's bruised head and sent the world spinning once more. The tangy smell of his own bile filled his nostrils. He retched, spasming with dry heaves. The man dropped him to the ground.

Hei choked and curled as far as his battered innards would allow. The man's sudden shift to violence left him reeling and terrified. Tears were starting to gather in his eyes. "I'll give you some time to think about it." The man placed a broad hand on his narrow shoulder. "And just to help you figure it out . . ."

The man reached behind him with his free hand, grabbed Hei's pinky finger and twisted until the digit broke. Hei couldn't stop the scream that erupted from his throat. The man stood and stalked off. He leaned against the shipping container and lit another cigarette, his narrow face lit by the glow of his lighter for a brief moment.

The pain was everywhere now, gnawing savagely into his nerves. Hei's chest burned and tightened. He had no doubt that this man was going to kill him. He would end up like that man Pai had electrocuted; sprawled in the sun turning cold and grey with no one to miss him or care that he had died. Hei's breath hitched. Something was rising in him like a wave being pulled to shore beneath the moonlight. Tears were coming now hard and fast. He turned his head into his arms and tried to muffle the soft keening noises escaping his throat.

More than anything he wanted the warmth of a slept-in bed, clean, with the smell of fresh linen, and the sound of his father's voice speaking softly in the hallway. He wanted to play kickball on the playground with his friends, and to eat his mother's pork dumplings. He wanted his sister to be all right again. He wanted to be called by his real name.

His body was shaking overwhelmed by the feelings crashing through him. He was crying uncontrollably now. In the background he could hear the man laugh. His voice mocking and filled with contempt. "You sound like a fucking cow, kid. Moo all you want. Ain't a soul out here who can hear us." Hei cried harder. He had never been so humiliated.

_Someone_

The man approached him as his sobbing eased. He pulled Hei to his feet by the front of his shirt. He held him upright as Hei wobbled. The man curled his fingers and slapped him, once, twice, three times, then released him. Hei's legs slumped without the man's support and he fell heavily to the ground.

_Someone, please, please . . ._

"Well kid, you ready to tell me where the girl is?" Hei could do nothing but pant. His face was wet with tears and snot. The man kicked him for good measure. Then he broke another finger.

_Help me_

Hei felt the pain of the snapped digit, but it seemed distant and unreal. The world shimmered around him like he was viewing it through a pane of glass on a cold day. He was two people at that moment; the sobbing, terrified child and the listless young man sprawled on the concrete enraged at his humiliation.

Hei had never experienced this burning hot rage surging through his veins. How dare that man do this to him? Hei wanted to take that man, tie him down, and make him feel every second of the hurt and humiliation Hei was experiencing. He wanted the man helpless at his feet, crying silently and begging for someone to help him. This newly discovered anger scared him, feeding into the fear flooding through him.

Hei let his mind drift for a time, trying to calm his emotions. He thought about Pai, wondered if she was okay, if she was still sleeping or if the cold had woken her.

The man approached Hei and hauled him to his feet. "Well kid, last chance. The next time I come back here . . ." He produced one of Hei's knives and buried the tip in the dirt next to his face. "So you take your time and think real hard about where that little girl is, okay?" Then the man stood and melted into the dark. This time he didn't turn to rest against the shipping container. Hei listened as the man's footsteps grew fainter.

Hei waited, too afraid to act, but knowing he was dead if he failed to act. He squirmed on the ground, then rolled over, carefully positioning himself near his knife. He carefully sawed through the fibers, freeing his hands. There was no doubt, no hesitation as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the knife.

He was strangely calm as he waited. It wasn't Hei crouching in the shadows waiting to murder a man. It was another boy who was hurting and cold. His body felt heavy, but his mind felt airy. As he huddled against the pallets he promised himself that next time he would not hesitate, next time he wouldn't wait for someone to hurt him before acting.

He watched the moving shadows as they traveled across the dockyard and held his breath as the man returned. Rage, white-hot and scathing, filled him. This was the man who had threatened him, tortured him, and tried to kill him. This man was walking, confident and self-assured, through the dockyard. He would pay; for threatening Pai, for hurting him, this man would pay.

The man's footsteps stopped, and the sound of swearing filled the night air. The footsteps resumed, moving faster this time. The man moved into Hei's line of sight, the glowing tip of his cigarette bobbing as he walked. The man stopped and looked down at the severed rope and the dark stain of Hei's vomit. He paused for a moment.

Hei leapt from his hiding place. The man turned, had barely a half-second to react as Hei closed in on him. He reached to grab Hei, but the agile boy ducked beneath his outstretched arm. Hei crouched like a panther and sprang forward, driving the bared edge of his knife upwards, pushing past the resistance of the man's flesh and into his ribcage.

Hei released the blade and stepped back. He watched the man stagger backwards and stare stupidly at the knife lodged securely in his torso. The man choked out a breath of air, blood bubbling from his lips. The man collapsed, twitching as he choked. Hei knelt next to him, watching as his eyes lost focus and his breathing faded into silence. He reached for his knife. There was a sick squelching sound as he pulled it free of the body.

* * *

The sun was rising. Pai was awake, wondering aimlessly by the docks. Relief washed over Hei when he saw her. She was safe and whole, his jacket still draped over her small shoulders.

He ran towards her calling her name. "Pai!" He wrapped his arms around her small shoulders, ignoring the pain of his broken fingers. "Are you all right?" He peered worriedly into her face.

She turned towards him, expression blank. "Yes, Brother." Her eyes drifted over him for a moment. "Did something happen?"

Her question cut through the haze and he was a scared thirteen year old boy once more. He bowed his head and started to shake. He could hear ships signaling each other in the bay. There were no dolphins whistling joyfully in the harbor. His hands tightened over Pai's shoulders as he fought a wave of tears. Two men were lying dead in the new morning light.

Pai grunted a little when his grip became too tight, but made no move to either comfort him or chastise him. She stood still as a statue, watching him like a lab researcher observing her experimental mice. Slowly, so slowly, Hei steadied himself and raised his head. He did his best to match her blank expression with one of his own.

He straightened himself and stood tall, throwing his shoulders back. "No, Pai, everything is fine." With his good hand he took one of hers. "It's fine. Let's go back."

Mr. Periwinkle was waiting for them once they left the forest of shipping containers. He was smiling. It was the happiest Hei had ever seen Mr. Periwinkle.

Hei reached into his pocket and handed a cell phone to Mr. Periwinkle as he got into the car. It had belonged to the man he had skewered. Hei had looked through the phone after he had taken it from the man's corpse. The last number that had been dialed on that phone had belonged to Mr. Periwinkle.

* * *

That night Hei dreamed.

Hei was standing by the lake. He shivered. Pai was standing ankle deep in the water of the lake wearing her white summer dress. He wondered why she wasn't as cold as he was. She turned to him, eyes alight with joy. "Brother, look." She pointed to the deepest parts of the lake.

Hei walked into the water, felt it squelch between his toes as it filled his shoes. He stood next to her and peered into the darkness. The light of the stars was reflected in the inky blackness of the lake. Amongst those imitation stars he saw a pod of dolphins playing in the dark water. Each of them had a long, thin crack running from the tip of its nose to the edge of its flippers.

Hei grabbed Pai's hand and guided her into the depths of the lake. The water rose around them as they walked. They were submerged completely and Hei came to understand that the lake was not a lake, but was the night sky lit with stars.

He walked hand in hand with Pai, gliding easily through the vacuum of space as the approached the dolphins playing amongst the stars. He could see that these dolphins were colored white with mossy green flecks down their flanks. As they drew closer the pod gathered around them whistling and leaping playfully through the nighttime sky.

Behind the pod a single white star swelled like the belly of a pregnant woman. Hei watched mesmerized as its light danced through the dark heavens outshining all of the other stars in the sky. Then the star exploded, sending shockwaves across the sky.

The shockwave passed harmlessly through them. Hei watched as the cracks on the dolphins deepened further into their hard skin. Horrified, Hei reached to help the injured beasts, but as soon as he touched them they shattered into a billion iridescent pieces.


End file.
